Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Looks great. I dig those mounting tabs....very cleaver...

Marc

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

good to see a beefy cross member in there. since the frame has lost the old cross member behind the engine the frame will be prone to flex some between the front and trans cross members. this can affect the cab mounts and some fellas have had issues with the door gaps changing and doors closing properly. big HP will also make it worse. the cross member you built looks beefy though.
just another thing to consider.
nice machine work you are doing, impressive work and planning processes.
keep the pics coming, they stoke the rest of us a bit to get us off the couch.

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Thanks for the input, fellas.

As for the frame flexing, I'm not completely finished with the support between the front and rear, but wanted to get everything mounted first (engine, trans, headers e.t.c) before I fully draw it out. That way, I'm not fighting it later. The plan is to integrate everything from the motor mounts and trans mount to the driveshaft loop, so there's plenty left to cipher on. Plus, the boxed frame should help too.

More later - thanks for looking -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Just a little progress to keep motivated. Once the old bass boat comes out it's hard to get shop time !! Finished getting the crossmember mocked up and got the slugs tacked in, so it's something anyway.

More later -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

super nice!

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

You do very nice work sir.

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Great detail.....it takes time. There are no short cuts with this build.

Bravo...

Marc

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

very slick on the trans crossmember..!!

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Thanks for the compliments. Should get it welded up in the next week or so then I guess I'll start headers. That's always fun!

Thanks for looking -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Nice job sir....:clap::clap:

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Not a lot of progress, but the crossmember is done for now, so time to get the 5.3 and cab back on and move to the next item.

Thanks for looking -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Headers next?

More later -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Would be good to have a cab on there to mock up steering column angle before getting headers, maybe.

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Agreed, of course. Slapping the cab back on is no biggie. I'll get the cab back installed and do the passenger side first. Plan for the driver's side is to get the column and steering shaft complete, then build headers.

So really, I should have said headers-firewall-column-steering next LOL.

Thanks for looking-

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Another minor update.

Last set of headers I built I started with "U" and "J" bends. This set, I had an epiphany and thought I'd start with a pre-bent set and see how that works out. Either way there's substantial fabwork involved, but I thought it was worth a shot. So, here goes the passenger side while I ponder steering columns and such on the driver's side. FYI 1-3/4" with 3" collectors, planning to have cutouts right behind the H-pipe.

As you can tell, no where close. Yet.

More later-

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Slowly but steadily making progress on headers. Started on the passenger's side, should have everything tacked up soon I hope. Went ahead and grabbed my booster, steering column, u joints, heim joints and DD shaft so we can attack the drivers side when this is finished. No where near final yet, just showing a little progress.

Thanks for looking -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Looks great. Keep at it..

Marc

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Thanks, fellas.

One more piece, moving forward. Ididit steel column (not SS, going to paint it), 30", 1" DD shaft, tilt and turn signal with universal GM harness, no shifter. I'll start this once I finish the passenger side. Kicking around the idea of making my own wheel, but we'll see about that.

More later -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Looks good Dan....I went with the same column and painted mine as well. On my previous truck (48') I had the chrome column and it was too much bling for my liking...

Marc

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Youngrodder - I didn't think I'd like a chrome column either. Thanks for looking-

A little header progress. Passenger side is fitted up. I kicked out the rear tube for length; that keeps all 4 tubes within a few inches of each other. I may change it, so I'll not weld them up yet. Pics are pretty self- explanatory, so I'll shut up and study on the drivers side a bit. . . .

More later -

Dan

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Looks good Dan... That header look slick. Well done

Marc

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Very nice job on the headers.Looks great!

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Good job on the headers.

Re: 53 3100 - complete rebuild and upgrade . . . .
 

Really nice...I had a buddy that built his own headers for his wagon from scratch...lots and lots of work hrs in them..yours look great